Japan’s revised growth figures appear to have strengthened the argument of those calling on the government to take advantage of the economic rebound to raise the sales tax.

But a public policy expert at Harvard University insists it is a major structural overhaul, not a tax increase, that Tokyo must forge ahead with during the current recovery if it is really serious about bringing its ballooning debt under control.

Kenneth Rogoff, a professor of public policy and economics at Harvard says Japan is long since past the point of being able to “easily” fix its fiscal woes through sales and income tax increases alone. In this gloomy assessment he notes the size of Japan’s debts and its rapidly aging population. He also says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s reform program doesn’t go far enough to make the difference to the economy he foresees as necessary. Read More »

About Japan Real Time

Japan Real Time is a newsy, concise guide to what works, what doesn’t and why in the one-time poster child for Asian development, as it struggles to keep pace with faster-growing neighbors while competing with Europe for Michelin-rated restaurants. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, the site provides an inside track on business, politics and lifestyle in Japan as it comes to terms with being overtaken by China as the world’s second-biggest economy. You can contact the editors at japanrealtime@wsj.com